Oleksandr Usyk reports that Anthony Joshua is physically and mentally good
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been spending time with reigning unified world champ Oleksandr Usyk and his team in Ukraine.
39-year-old Usyk provided fans with an update on Joshua’s progress, including a warning that came from the doctor.
Usyk reported: “I think he’s getting better from what I see, Anthony is training well, but the doctor says, ‘please, take it slowly, not too fast yet. Take your time’.
“So physically he’s good, but he needs more time to fully heal.
“Mentally, I think he’s good too, because we talk every day. We train twice a day, morning and evening, and we’re always talking constantly.
“I tell him, he can talk to me when he needs to. Listen, I know Anthony, he’s a champion. Yes, right now he doesn’t have the belts, but for me that doesn’t matter.
“A champion is not always the one who has the belts.
“A champion is a man who lives right, who works, who looks to the future and says, ‘yes, I can. I will work and never give up’.”
Just days after Christmas, AJ was involved in a fatal car collision while on holiday in Nigeria following his Jake Paul victory.
The car he was travelling in collided with a stationary vehicle on a notoriously dangerous road in Lagos and two of his closest friends – Sina Ghani and Abdul Lateef – were tragically killed.
Their funeral was held in London on January 4 and the grieving boxer has been in mourning since.
His trip to the Ukraine with Usyk is evidence of his ambitions to continue in his career, and fight fans are keen to hear an announcement on his fight plans soon. Long-term promoter Eddie Hearn has now joined Joshua in training and has been providing updates also.
“He’s had a great few days. That’s how long he’s been in camp, and no decisions yet about when a return will be,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “I think July is a sensible month to target. We’ve still got to get some clearance from some doctors on his development, but he feels good. I spoke to Joshua last night, and this morning he said, ‘I’ve had a great week. I feel amazing.’ That was his words: ‘I feel amazing.’
“So it’s brilliant to see him. It’s really his happy place being in camp. Really shouldn’t be, because if you see how hard they work out there, it shouldn’t be anyone’s happy place, but that’s just how they are as fighters. I think he’s really happy to be back in that routine, and we’ll start planning his next fight very soon.”
